Plumbing only goes so far. Now, net needs good Indian content: Srinivasan Ramani

Srinivasan Ramani calls himself the "internet plumber" of the 1970s. As the former head of National Centre for Software Technology (now, C-DAC Mumbai), he and his colleagues nurtured the internet in India and watched it transform the country.

| TNN | Jul 20, 2014, 06.17 AM IST

Srinivasan Ramani calls himself the "internet plumber" of the 1970s. As the former head of National Centre for Software Technology (now, C-DAC Mumbai), he and his colleagues nurtured the internet in India and watched it transform the country. Recently, Ramani, 75, became the first Indian to be inducted into the Internet Society's prestigious Hall of Fame. The unassuming tech enthusiast, who grew up in Chennai, tells Sandhya Soman that it feels nice to be on the list after 30 years of pathbreaking work.

How did you move from research work in Artificial Intelligence at IIT-B to computer networks?

I went to Carnegie-Mellon University as a post-doctoral research associate in 1971 and ran into ARPANET, a precursor to internet.

A packet switching network like the ARPANET worked well with noisy telecom lines, and lines that failed frequently. I was excited that such communication networks could easily be set up in any developing country. Artificial intelligence was moving a bit slowly , and (computer) networking was zipping along. So I decided to spend time working on networks when I returned.

How did computer networking fare in India in those early days?

In the '70s and '80s, many didn't know the difference between software and knitwear.

But Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), where I worked, was a well-established lab and my boss, professor R Narasimhan, was aware of its potential. So it wasn't difficult to sell the idea. I recruited young colleagues, formed a small team as part of the newly formed National Centre for Software Development and Computing Techniques (NCSDCT), and developed network software for a computer made in Hyderabad.

But technology is best demonstrated by application. So we decided to run a connection between NCSDCT and VJTI (one of the oldest engineering colleges in India) in Matunga.

The link became a meaningful demonstration of early networking in India.How did this link pave way for bigger projects and finally, the first internet connection in 1987?

After the link was created, we got an opportunity to work on a satellite-based project with Space Application Centre and Telecom Research Centre. We connected Mumbai, Delhi and Ahmedabad through an Indian satellite in 1982 using packet switching. It gave us the confidence that we can make any connection. We didn't continue with satellites but chose to work with the more practical alternative, channels based on fibre optics. Being located in Mumbai helped as it had excellent telecom connection to the world. We were ready to use landlines and leased channels from VSNL for an unearthly amount of Rs 5 lakh a year when longtime supporter and secretary in the department of electronics, PP Gupta, approved a project for an academic network. ERNET (Education and Research Network) supported research at the five IITs, IISc in Bangalore, the NCST (which I headed) and the department of Electronics. It was NCST's team that set up ERNET's first email hub and an international gateway to the internet, connecting it first to Amsterdam in 1987, and soon after to the US.

How did internet change India?

It was like living through the Green Revolution. In 1980, at India's first international conference on networking held in Mumbai, my colleague P Sadanandan prepared a demo on the automation of the railway reservation system. Gupta sold the idea to the government in 1984 and his company created the Indian railway passenger reservation system. It was exciting to see the flow of ideas at a conference touch lives of millions soon after. There were other changes, especially in the field of scientific research. Scientists found it easier to write for international research publications and to collaborate with colleagues abroad. I remember some of them sending jeeps to our office, for us to print out and send the latest research papers in them! Engineers, especially those who majored in computer science, were also excited. We trained engineers to create a talent pool just as the IT/ITES sector boomed and helped automate the banking sector.

What were the major challenges?

Telecom was under tight government control. When someone asked at the 1980 conference whether the department would allow people to use a modem on a telephone network for a dial-up connection, the answer was a 'no.' First it had to be tested in Delhi and approved. There were numerous application forms to be filled and approved. But the biggest problem was that it was illegal then to run the internet protocol suite, TCP/IP, as it was 'only American and not international'.

We could lease individual telecom lines but could not make a network out of them.

What should be the focus of internet in India?

We need sufficient and interesting content in Indian languages. The government's plan for a broadband network in rural areas is good but they could also use some money to create digital content in Indian lan guages consisting of utilitarian knowl edge, like Wikipe dia. Good plumbing goes only so far to build a civilization. What we now need is good content and not mere engineering.

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